Page 104 of Lavender and Honey

"Is it alright if I explain what happened?" Lucian asks, his deep voice pitched low and gentle. "You don't have to go through it again."

Relief washes over me at the offer. The thought of reliving the confrontation with my mother, of finding words for the tangled mess of emotions it stirred up, feels impossibly daunting. I nod against Elias's chest, grateful beyond words for the reprieve.

Elias's purr deepens, his hand continuing its gentle strokes through my hair as Lucian settles at the edge of the nest. The contrast between them strikes me anew – Elias all warmth and nurturing comfort, Lucian a solid, protective presence.Together, they create a space where I feel completely held, completely safe.

The door opens again, and Finn steps in, followed closely by Soren. They move with careful quiet, approaching the nest where Elias cradles me. Finn carries a tray with steaming mugs – the tea he promised earlier – while Soren's hands are empty, though his purple eyes are full of an emotion I can't quite name. Concern, certainly, but something fiercer underneath, something that makes my breath catch.

"She's given me permission to explain," Lucian says, his voice low but clear in the hushed room. "She's too exhausted to go through it again."

Finn sets the tray down on a small table near the nest, his movements deliberately gentle, as if loud sounds might shatter me. Perhaps he's not wrong – I feel brittle, hollowed out, like a glass figurine blown too thin.

"When I arrived at her apartment," Lucian begins, settling on the edge of the nest again, "she was in a state I've never seen before. She'd clearly been crying for hours, was completely drained."

Elias's purr deepens, his arms creating a secure circle around me as if to shield me from the memory itself. I lean into him, grateful beyond words for his steady presence.

"She told me her mother had found her at the shop this morning," Lucian continues, his voice measured but with that undercurrent of controlled anger I noticed before. "Ambushed her, essentially. Mrs. Silvercrest wants Lydia to return to her family's pack, to honor an arranged mating that was set up before Lydia left."

Finn's expression darkens, his usually gentle face hardening with a protectiveness that transforms his features. Soren's reaction is more vocal – a low growl that surprises me with its intensity, coming from a position near the foot of the nest.

"The Greene pack," I whisper, the words escaping before I can stop them. "That's who they arranged for me to mate with."

Lucian's eyes snap to mine, sharp with recognition. "The Greene pack?" he repeats, his voice tight. "Are you certain?"

I nod, confusion furrowing my brow at the intensity of his reaction. "My father has business connections with them. Alpha Greene... he visited once, to 'assess' me." The memory makes me shudder – his cold eyes appraising me like livestock, his voice discussing terms with my father as if I weren't even in the room.

Something passes between the four men – a look, a shift in scent, a tensing of bodies. Lucian's jaw clenches, a muscle jumping beneath the skin.

"We know of them," he says finally, his voice controlled but with an edge that speaks of restrained fury. " They are a big traditional pack. They have a reputation, and not a good one. Especially regarding how they treat their Omegas."

"Traditional to the point of cruelty," Finn adds, his deep voice tight with anger. I nod again, not surprised they've heard of the Greene pack. Their reputation is well-known in certain circles – old money, old values, old ways of treating Omegas as property rather than people.

"So her mother shows up, demanding she go back to be mated off to these people?" Soren's voice rises with incredulity, his usual playfulness entirely absent. "After Lydia's been living her own life successfully for a year?"

"She said Lydia's independence was a 'fantasy,'" Lucian continues, his gaze returning to me with a gentleness that contrasts with the hardness in his voice when he speaks of my mother. "That she was being naive to think she could build a life outside a traditional pack structure."

Elias's purr falters again, his arms tightening around me protectively. I feel the rise and fall of his chest quicken against my back, his scent sharpening with distress on my behalf.

"She also made pointed comments about Lydia's decision to stop using blockers," Lucian adds, his voice lowering further. "Called it... inappropriate for a 'respectable Omega' to 'flaunt her scent in public.'"

The words hit me like a physical blow, despite having heard them directly from my mother's lips earlier. I flinch, unable to hide my reaction. Elias makes a soft, pained sound, his face pressing against the crown of my head in wordless comfort.

"That's disgusting," Soren spits, his usual easy demeanor replaced by something harder, more dangerous. "There's nothing inappropriate about an Omega's natural scent. Nothing to be ashamed of."

"I agree," Lucian says, his eyes fixed on me. "Lydia's choice to stop using blockers is her own. And for what it's worth, I think it was a brave one."

Brave. The word echoes in my mind, so at odds with how I've been feeling – small, frightened, uncertain. Is that what they see when they look at me? Bravery instead of weakness? The thought sends a warm current through the cold depths of my exhaustion.

"What else did she say?" Finn asks, his voice gentle but edged with a determination to understand the full extent of what happened.

Lucian glances at me, seeking permission to continue. I nod again, burrowing deeper into Elias's embrace as if his warmth might insulate me from the chill of memory.

"She implied that Lydia was vulnerable without 'proper pack protection,'" Lucian says, his lip curling slightly at the phrase. "That her independence was ultimately unsustainable, that reality would eventually force her back to a traditional pack structure."

A low growl rumbles through the room – not just from Lucian this time, but from Finn and Soren as well, a chorus of protectiveanger that surrounds me like a shield. Even Elias's chest vibrates with a sound that's not quite a growl but no less fierce for its difference – a warning, a declaration that I am under his protection now.

"She told Lydia to 'come to her senses' before Sunday," Lucian finishes, his voice tight with controlled fury. "She's staying at the Grand Haven Hotel until then, expecting Lydia to agree to this... arrangement."

"That's not going to happen," Finn says, his usual quiet voice carrying an unexpected steel. "Not while we're here."

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